Special operations expanding as wars recede

FILE - In this June 28, 2011 file photo, Navy Vice Adm. William H. McRaven, center, is seen on Capitol Hill in Washington. As traditional military operations are cut back, the Pentagon is moving to expand the worldwide reach of the U.S. Special Operations Command to strike back wherever threats arise. U.S. officials say the Pentagon and the White House have embraced a proposal by special operations chief Adm. Bill McRaven to push troops that are withdrawing from war zones to reinforce special operations units in areas somewhat neglected during the decade-long focus on al-Qaida. At left is Gen. James D. Thurman, nominee to become commander of U.S. forces in Korea.

WASHINGTON — War is going back under wraps for the U.S. military. That's the next-generation plan put forth by the top special operations commander who led the Osama bin Laden raid.

That plan is being embraced at the highest levels of the Pentagon and the White House.

Big armies and the land invasions of Iraq and Afghanistan will be replaced by fast and light special operations raids that leave little trace or raids by friendly local forces the U.S. has trained, helping fight mutual enemies side by side.